Five Years Time
by xpurebloodprofilersx
Summary: A lot can change in five years. Canon compatible summary of Prentiss and Hotch's relationship as it evolves throughout the series, with a drabble for each episode. Also compatible with Where the Heart Is.
1. 2x9 The Last Word

Hotch is exhausted when the case finally ends. He wants to drop something off in his office quickly before heading home, but to his surprise — and annoyance — Emily Prentiss is sitting on his sofa with a file in her hands.

His mouth flattens into a line. So much for a swift exit.

They talk for a moment, and he tries to tell her that he's not interested in hiring her, but it's clear within a minute or so that this is not the type of woman who takes no for an answer. She's stubborn.

Generally he finds stubbornness to be a positive trait, but right now she's doing nothing but delaying his departure. He only halfway listens to what she has to say, until she starts telling him about the profile she's worked up for the case file that's now in his hand. When she's done, she takes a deep breath.

"I belong in this unit," she tells him firmly. "And all I'm asking for is the chance to show you that." Hotch pauses. Her profile was spot-on. And — though he's certainly still wary of her sudden arrival — he has to respect the fact that she sat there waiting for him until 2 AM. Clearly she's determined, and it does seem as though she might have potential. He doesn't trust her, but he _does_ need to replace Elle, preferably sooner rather than later.

"I still need to look into this. I'm not promising anything," he says sternly, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Understood," she says respectfully, with her eyes lit up like he's already given her the job. She's either not taking him seriously, or her confidence is such that she already believes that, given the chance, she's sure to secure the position.

He doesn't know what to make of the situation. Or of her. He watches through his window as she leaves the bullpen with a just-perceptible bounce in her step. He'll have to keep a close eye on her.


	2. 2x10 Lessons Learned

"Emily Prentiss," she introduces herself, reaching out to shake Agent Morgan's hand. She's about to say something else — maybe a little 'Nice to meet you' or something — but their boss cuts her off.

"We can make nice later."

Prentiss bites her lip as he jumps straight back into the case, her first one with the team. Okay, then. So he runs a tight ship. That's fine, she can respect that.

When he tells Agent Gideon and Dr Reid to take her along to Guantanamo Bay, she's pleased — although maybe not as pleased as she could be. It's clear he's sending her solely because she's fluent in Arabic, not because he thinks she may actually be able to help with the profile. That's fine, she's glad she can be useful — but she wishes he'd just give her at least a _little_ chance to prove herself.

Oh well. She's excited to work with Agent Gideon anyways. He's a rather famous profiler and she's read a lot of his work. She'll work as hard as she can on this case and maybe he'll report it back to Agent Hotchner and it will work in her favor. Maybe.

She's not quite sure though. A little part of her definitely believes that her new boss only sent her to Guantanamo so he doesn't have to deal with her.


	3. 2x11 Sex Birth Death

_I don't appreciate being questioned in front of other agents._

That's what he'd said to her earlier today. And he'd followed it with _This team can't function if I don't trust the people on it._

 _Ugh!_ She's still thinking about it long after the case is solved. She's lying in bed and she can't sleep (again) and she's torturing herself with thoughts of her boss's not-so-secret dislike for her. He'd flat-out accused her of tipping off the congresswoman! And he'd made her feel guilty for it! Which didn't make sense, because she _hadn't done anything wrong!_

God, does he think she's some lowkey politician? That assessment of her is so incredibly wrong that it nearly makes her skin crawl just thinking about it. Angrily she rolls to her other side, messing her blankets up in the process.

She hadn't been lying earlier when she told him she hates politics. So why the hell is she starting to feel like she's going to have to play office politics to get the boss to like her? Is it too much to ask that she be allowed to catch some goddamn serial killers without all this drama?


	4. 2x12 Profiler Profiled

"Hotch doesn't actually think Morgan's guilty, does he?" Emily asks Reid in a hushed voice.

"We know he's not," Reid replies simply.

"Yeah, but..." she says, letting the rest of her sentence hang there in the air. When Reid doesn't respond after a moment, she looks up from her file. He's already engrossed in whatever he's reading. In his genius mind, their conversation is already over.

She presses her lips into a flat line and looks back towards where Hotch and Gideon are heatedly discussing something. She can only catch tone, not actual words, but she can guess based on what JJ told her earlier that there's tension between the two men because this morning Hotch referred to Morgan as a _suspect_.

Which he definitely _isn't_ , if they believe he's innocent. Which they all obviously do.

But it seems like Hotch isn't convinced. God, does he really think Morgan is capable of something like this? Of killing children?

She's only been here for _twelve days_ and she knows there's no _way_ Morgan did this.

Prentiss turns away from them then, not wanting to risk her boss seeing the look of vague disgust on her face.

 _God, what a jackass_ , she thinks.

And if he still doesn't trust Morgan after four years, how the hell is she supposed to get him to trust her?


	5. 2x13 No Way Out

They're talking to Crazy Jane outside of the diner and things are starting to get intense — Frank is inside with Gideon and Morgan and they've just discovered that the town's children are missing. It's not a good situation, and the woman knows it. Hotch is saying something to her and she's starting to get worked up, like she might slip into an episode or something, but he doesn't stop.

His _I don't appreciate being questioned in front of other agents_ lecture is still fresh on Emily's mind, so she doesn't jump in right away — but they do need Jane to tell them what's going on, and he really isn't helping the situation and if all those kids end up dead — well, it's worth the risk of getting chewed out again.

She gently reaches out for Jane's arm and redirects her attention.

Hotch watches through narrowed eyes as Prentiss gently but very firmly explains the situation to the supposedly crazy woman. Her voice never rises, but her sense of urgency is more than apparent.

When Frank steps out of the diner and Jane rushes towards him, Prentiss darts forward quickly and grasps the woman's arm, keeping her away from him. Jane doesn't panic like she had been earlier when people had tried to hold her back in the jail. Hotch has absolutely no idea how Prentiss managed it, but it's clear that there is some sort of trust between the two women.

He has to admit — at least to himself — it's impressive work.


	6. 2x14 The Big Game

"Hey, Morgan, be careful!" Prentiss calls over the loud music playing in the bar, over to her friend who is currently dancing with not one, not two, but _three_ random chicks he's managed to pick up over the past hour. "The one in the back could take your wallet!"

"Then I'll be a broke, happy man!" he calls back cheekily.

She laughs and continues over to where Hotch and his wife are sitting, setting beers down on the table in front of them. Hotch is smiling and it's almost spooky. She's never seen a smile from him before.

"So how are they treating you at the BAU, Emily?" Haley asks loudly.

Well, truth be told, they're all treating her just fine except for Hotch, who is still cold and distant at best and borderline hostile at worst.

"She means am I being nice to you," he clarifies. There's a twinkle in his eye and she's taken aback for a second — but she knows he's only looking at her like that because his wife is sitting with them, not because he actually likes her. As far as she's concerned, there is no reason that she can think of that he'd suddenly like her now.

"Actually everyone's been incredibly nice," she tells Haley. The look in his eye has caught her so off-guard that she almost kinda believes he's been nice to her. Like he hasn't had her under a microscope since the first second she walked into his office.

"Good," Haley says, looking pleased. Prentiss smiles at her.

Hotch feels a twinge of guilt because he knows he hasn't exactly been welcoming to their newest agent.

Emily can barely believe her eyes when he pulls his wife onto the dance floor.


	7. 2x14 Revelations

_I guess maybe I compartmentalize better than most people_.

The line runs through his head as they're on the jet on their way back to Quantico. It's the middle of the night because they had to wait for Reid to get released from the hospital, but finally they're on their way home. Hotch is the only one awake now. Well, that's not entirely true — he thinks Reid is pretending — but either way, the rest of them are still, and he's essentially alone.

He glances over at Prentiss. She's next to JJ and across from Morgan, and it's clear that she's comfortable with them based on the fact that she's out cold with her head resting against the plane's wall, sharing a blanket with JJ.

He doesn't understand why he can't quite trust her like the rest of them do. She's proven that she's eager to work and that she can fit in with the rest of them and that she's good at what they do. He's yet to hear a single complaint from her about anything.

Her comment from earlier runs through his head yet again. _I guess maybe I compartmentalize better than most people_. What does that mean, anyways? Is she hiding something?


End file.
